Our First Transit Festival Was One for the Record Books
For 60 years, the Ford Transit has been the backbone of Britain. But on a sunny Saturday at Chelmsford City Racecourse, it was the heart of a party.
When we launched Super Trowel in 2023, we had no blueprint and no real expectations of where it might lead. We simply believed there should be a competition for professional bricklayers that celebrated the skill, pride and craftsmanship that exists throughout our industry.
Just eight weeks after first discussing the idea, we delivered the inaugural event. And somehow, we did that despite still being full-time bricklayers and putting Super Trowel together in our spare time — as we still do.
Looking back now, it's hard to believe how far things have come. What started as a competition in a college workshop with seven competitors and around 500 visitors has grown into what is arguably the biggest bricklaying event in Europe, attracting competitors, exhibitors and visitors from across the UK and internationally.
“Looking back now, it's hard to believe how far things have come. What started as a competition in a college workshop with seven competitors and around 500 visitors has grown into what is arguably the biggest bricklaying event in Europe.”Joe, Jack and Ashley, founders of Super Trowel
What was it like building Super Trowel alongside day jobs as brickies?
As Super Trowel gained momentum, we naturally became more ambitious. We introduced regional qualifiers, expanded the competition format and attracted support from some of the biggest names in the construction industry.
By 2025, we had taken another major step forward by moving to a major showground — an ideal location to showcase outdoor craft like bricklaying as we grew and introduced new attractions.
And it worked; we were successful, but missed the can-do attitude and rawness of how Super Trowel 2023 felt. We also learned a lot about logistics, infrastructure and the mechanics of running a big event.
Somewhere along the way, we realised more growth like that would risked losing why we’d started Super Trowel in the first place, as well as putting huge pressure on our own business and family commitments.
How did the relationship with Ford begin?
Super Trowel had a stand at Ford’s Transit Festival celebrating the legendary van’s 60th anniversary. We were surrounded by people passionate about what they do and sharing love for their crafts. It felt like a genuine community and it reshaped what we thought Super Trowel should become.
We were teaching some of the Ford team how to build a bricklaying corner and speaking about Super Trowel’s journey and our own paths in the construction industry. At the time it just felt like a chat, but a week later we received an email from Ford Pro asking for another meeting.
It was very surprising, but remembering the atmosphere and respect for the craft at Transit Festival, we started to chat with them. Immediately, it was obvious that Ford understood what we wanted to do with Super Trowel and how they could help.
Super Trowel events include tradespeople, business owners, apprentices, materials and tool companies, and construction managers. They all rely on vehicles to do their job, and we all knew this was an opportunity to do things differently. Instead of being a label, Ford could be a pillar of the event. This wasn’t just going to be turning up with a few vans and putting logos around the venue.
Could Pro Power Onboard support exhibitors? Could it support the Masters Competition? Could it power activity areas? Could it contribute to the food court? Could it help us create better experiences for families and young people visiting the Try A Trade area? Those initial video meetings and the ideas in them — including the ones we didn’t think at the time would ever go anywhere in real life — became part of Super Trowel 2026.
What difference did Ford becoming part of the event make?
There was one moment that particularly stood out from last month’s event. Some of the intricate designs in the Super Trowel Masters competition mean the bricks have to be trimmed into different shapes. The saws we use for this draw a huge initial burst of current and need consistent power to cut bricks during the eight-hour competition. Pro Power Onboard ran two of these saws throughout the day, no problem.
The system was also behind our Try A Trade area giving children and aspiring tradespeople the chance to get hands-on experience of construction. We could run the whole thing through one vehicle with Pro Power Onboard rather than using a generator, saving us the hassle of handling generator hire and fuelling, as well as nasty emissions.
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But the biggest thing Ford did for Super Trowel went to the winner. Vans are essential for us; they take us to work, keep our tools secure, advertise our businesses and for lots of us, they double up as a family car.
A free Transit Custom PHEV1 for two years is life-changing for anyone in the trade. Trust us — when we get home, we don’t stop work. That’s where the accounting and planning happens, so knowing that your new Transit Custom PHEV means you don’t also have to worry about oil changes, low-emission zones, AdBlue and particulate filters helps you relax or spend more time being a partner and parent rather than bringing work home.
What stands out from your journey so far?
The feedback from Super Trowel 2026 competitors, exhibitors and visitors has been overwhelming, with a lot of people saying it was the best Super Trowel yet.
And we feel the same way. This year’s event was the most authentic we’ve done while being big enough to properly spread the word and share our passion with the next generation of tradespeople, suppliers and customers.
It’s hard to believe we only began three years ago and went from idea to event in eight weeks. Super Trowel’s still about giving brickies a platform that celebrates the very best of our trade, but now we’re able to do that with a company to help us bring it to life in ways we never knew existed.
Super Trowel was founded by professional bricklayers Ashley Digweed-Francis, Jack Dawson and Joe Short.
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1Ford Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid homologated CO2 emissions 86-112 g/km WLTP Euro 6e-bis (UK: 36-52 g/km Euro 6e), homologated fuel efficiency 3.8-4.9 l/100 km WLTP Euro 6e-bis (UK: 1.6-2.3 l/100 km Euro 6e) and pure electric driving range up to 55 km WLTP. The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO2 emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers. A range of up to 55 km can be achieved with a fully charged battery — depending on the existing series and battery configuration. The actual range may vary due to various factors (e.g. weather conditions, driving style, route profile, vehicle condition, age and condition of the lithium-ion battery).
